Marcus Tavernier shows his delight after scoring the winner.Photograph: Robin Jones/AFC Bournemouth/Getty Images
If Wolves were under any illusions of the challenges that lay ahead, then defeat at Bournemouth served to magnify their shortcomings. A disjointed Wolves display was ultimately decided by a fourth-minute strike by Marcus Tavernier, which took a wicked deflection off Emmanuel Agbadou.
Wolves could count themselves unlucky in that particular moment but the worrying thing from Vítor Pereira’s perspective was that his side appeared more dangerous with 10 men, after Toti Gomes was dismissed four minutes into the second half for a silly push on Evanilson.
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For Bournemouth, for whom Amine Adli made his debut as a substitute, a first win of the season. The match-winning moment stemmed from the busy USA midfielder Tyler Adams hounding Jean-Ricner Bellegarde on the edge of the box to snatch possession and then Antoine Semenyo, who this week discussed the racial abuse he reported at Anfield, laid the ball on for the overlapping Tavernier to his left. Tavernier’s strike flew in off Agbadou’s left leg. Cue Tavernier’s baseball swing celebration.
The first half proved a particularly difficult watch for those of a Wolves persuasion, typified by Bellegarde’s loose pass for Jackson Tchatchoua – a 34th-minute replacement for the injured Ki-Jana Hoever – on the verge of the interval.
André, a surprise omission from the starting lineup, entered at the break in place of Bellegarde together with Hugo Bueno, who spent last season on loan at Feyenoord. Fifty-three seconds into the second half, Wolves exceeded a dismal opening 50 minutes, Jhon Arias sending a first-time shot into the side netting from Bueno’s cutback.
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Any brewing optimism among the travelling support was doused three minutes later when Toti was given a straight red card, the Wolves captain deemed to have denied Evanilson a goalscoring opportunity when he gave the Brazil striker a nudge in the back. Evanilson raced through on goal after a poor André pass was intercepted and Toti took matters into his own hands.
It was an uphill challenge for Wolves, who reshuffled with defender Santiago Bueno replacing the Colombia winger Arias. The former Hellas Verona wing-back Tchatchoua, clocked as the speediest player in Serie A last season, was game and twice advanced behind the Bournemouth defence to cross into the box but neither Marshall Munetsi nor Jørgen Strand Larsen could direct efforts goalwards.
Bournemouth missed chances to kill the game, Semenyo skying a first-time shot before Adams forced a fine save from José Sá. Wolves’s only effort on target was a Strand Larsen header on 17 minutes and by the end it felt an awful long time ago.